"The 'red line' for salaries and pensions is not an issue up for
negotiation," government spokesman Giorgos Petalotis underlined on
Tuesday, stressing that "by keeping our eyes fixed on our goals we see
that there is no reason to talk about new measures."

He pointed out that "the apparently upward revision of the 2009 deficit
will not bring more measures," clarifying that there will be "no more
salary and pension cuts."

Speaking during a regular press briefing in Athens and in response to
repeated queries, Petalotis said that the government is trying to avoid
implementation of measures that have been already scheduled for 2011,
by considering alternative scenarios.

Referring to the upcoming Nov. 7 local government elections, Petalotis
said that "in the period we are going through there is no vote of
discontent but, on the contrary, there is a vote for political
stability."

He stated that "the citizens do not want their sacrifices to go to
waste and jeopardise the future of their children by leading the
country back to 'point zero'."

He underlined that there was "no blackmail on behalf of the prime
minister," stressing that during his all-channel televised interview on
Monday evening "the premier underscored the responsibility we all have
in view of the elections."

The government spokesman said "the state of alert is still on and
consequences will be fateful if the country's course out of the crisis
is upset."

"It is clear that the government's intention is to continue a difficult
course and not call early elections," he said, adding that "we all need
to realize the usefulness of this course."

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ANA-MPA/Greek business capital investments in Turkey amount to 5
billion euros, deputy foreign minister Spyros Kouvelis told a
Greek-Turkish Business Forum in Istanbul on Tuesday, while he also
opined that Greek investments in the Turkish economy will increase.

The value of bilateral trade transactions between Greece and Turkey
reached 3.5 billion dollars in 2008, but fell to 2.8 billion dollars
last year.

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MUNICH (ANA-MPA - G. Pappas) Former Siemens AG manager Reinhard
Siekaczek confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that Siemens had handed
out "political" money in Greece. He was testifying before a delegation
of Greek MPs sent to Munich by a Greek Parliamentary committee
investigating alleged kickbacks paid by the German multinational in
their country.

While in Munich, the MPs will also question former Siemens Hellas CEO
Mihalis Christoforakos, a fugitive from Greek justice, who is due to
testify before the Greek Parliamentary delegation on Wednesday.

The main administrator of Siemens slush funds, Siekaczek said he was
aware that kickbacks were being paid to political parties in Greece but
did not reveal any names, saying that he did not know who the names of
the politicians that accepted the funds. He suggested that the MPs
question Christoforakos regarding the identities of the recipients.

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ÁÍÁ-ÌPÁ/The Nike Monument erected in honour of the ancient military
commander Callimachus after the Battle of Marathon, its various
surviving shards reassembled for the first time to resemble the form
they would have had in antiquity, was unveiled in the new Acropolis
Museum on Tuesday by Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos.

In statements at the unveiling, Geroulanos emphasised the importance of
the monument 2,500 years after the historic battle, an event broadly
regarded as a pivotal moment in the history of European culture.

In 490 B.C. when the Battle of Marathon took place Callimachus was then
a 'polemarch' or supreme military commander of Athens. With the 10
Athenian generals evenly divided over whether to do battle or surrender
to the Persian invasion force, it was he that cast the deciding vote
that sent the Athenians into battle and on to their final victory over
the Persian Empire.

"Everything now rests of you," Geroulanos said, quoting directly from
the description given by the ancient historian Herodotus of a
hypothetical conversation between Callimachus and Miltiades - the
general that led the battle and earned Greeks their victory - just
before the polemarch cast his vote.

"Today we are not unveiling the monument of just another general but a
monument to a democratic process that changed the course of history,"
the minister stressed.

Callimachus took part in the battle himself, leading the right wing of
the Greek army, but was killed during the fighting. His statue was
erected atop of the Athens Acropolis.

According to Prof. Dimitris Pantermalis, the curator of the new
Acropolis Museum, the monument has been reconstructed in a modern
fashion, using only the original shards in their correct positions, so
that a visitor might be able to see the authentic version.ANA-MPA

The remnants of the 4.68-metre monument have been affixed to a metal
column that holds the various parts in place and is built so that
additional fragments might be attached if they are found. It is on
display in the museum's Archaic Monuments' section.

A short distance from the original there also stands a copy showing
archaeologists' best estimate of what the monument might have looked
like when it was whole.

The unveiling of the Nike monument was among a series of events
scheduled by the culture and tourism ministry to celebrate the 2,500th
anniversary since the Battle of Marathon, which will culminate in the
holding of the 28th Classic Athens Marathon on Sunday, in which more
than 20,000 athletes from all over the world will take part.

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Communist Party of Greece (KKE) general secretary Aleka Papariga on
Tuesday called on voters to condemn the two major political parties,
the ruling PASOK and main opposition New Democracy (ND), and support
her party's candidates in the upcoming Nov. 7 local government
elections.

In a press conference at the KKE headquarters, Papariga referred to
Monday night's all-channel televised interview of Prime Minister George
Papandreou, charging that the dilemma he put to the people, namely,
vote for the policy implemented or face the likelihood of early
elections, is "pure blackmail".

She called on voters not to give in to blackmail, as she charged, while
terming as a "ludicrous lie" a statement made by the PM that no new
measures will be imposed.

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Equity prices were declining at the opening of trade on Wednesday on
the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), with the basic share price index down
0.94 percent, standing at 1,592.98 points at 11:00 a.m, and turnover
at 13.082 million euros.

Individual sector indices were moving downwards, with the biggest gains
in Chemicals, up 1.55 percent; and Personal Goods, up 1.04 percent.

The biggest losses were in Banks, down 1.62 percent; and Health, down
1.60 percent.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks was down
1.09 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index was down 0.60 percent, and the
FTSE/ASE-80 small cap index was down 0.14 percent.

Of the stocks traded, 16 were up, 44 were down, and 12 were unchanged.

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The Bank of Greece's (BoG) monetary policy interim report and its
recommendations for exiting from the recession and the International
Monetary Fund's (IMF) opposition to the prospect of early general
elections, mostly dominated the headlines on Wednesday in Athens'
newspapers.

ADESMEFTOS TYPOS: "Bank of Greece proposals for a smaller state and tax
reductions".